Carer’s ‘pernicious breach of trust’ with disabled man

Published:06:00Friday 29 July 2016

A carer who worked for a trust stole thousands of pounds from a man with learning disabilities she looked after.

Joanne Ailey, who was employed by the Fylde-based Ormerod Trust, took more than £1,000 in cash from the man’s savings and also spent almost £1,000 of his money buying goods from an online account she opened.

Ailey, 43, of Alexandra Road, St Annes, pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by abuse of her position.

Jim Mowbray, prosecuting, told the court: “What she did represented a gross and cynical abuse of trust.”

Ailey milked the 32-year-old man’s bank account while working for The Ormerod Trust, a care facility for vulnerable people and people with learning disabilities, between August 2014 and June last year at St Annes.

The prosecutor said Ailey first used the victim’s debit card to withdraw cash.

That was permitted by the trust, but all transactions should have been recorded in a logbook, which she did not do.

She then set-up an Amazon account online, which was again permitted by the trust, but she used it to buy items for herself, including two childrens’ scooters.

Ailey stole a total of £2,167 of the disabled man’s money.

Defence lawyer, Steven Townley, said his client had no previous convictions.

Ailey was bailed to appear at for sentence at Preston Crown Court on August 24 by District Judge Edward Barr sitting at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court, who told her: “This was a pernicious breach of trust.”